Guppy Movie Review

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GUPPY MALAYALAM MOVIE REVIEW

Once the film begins till the first one hour or so, the proceedings didn’t keep me much interested and looked decent but pretty ordinary. But once the character of Thejas Varkey appear and how the events unfold from there, the film turns out to be lively and a beautiful one. Finally how Guppy was wrapped up by debutant director Johnpaul George makes a touching and emotional ending taking it to another level with lot of meaning in it.

The storyline is quite simple without any depth in the initial stages and makes one wonder where the film is heading upto. But once everything is settled, the end result which is the most important thing puts Guppy not just in a safe zone but much above that.

Its the story of this boy who is nicknamed Guppy who has a paralysed mother to support. He earns his daily bread by working in a local tea shop and also selling guppy fish. The movie portray the incidents that happen in a village after the arrival of a civil engineer in that place for construction of a railway over bridge.

Johnpaul George, the director has taken utmost care in presenting the characters and sketching the locality with a pure village feel to it. Screenplay has ensured in giving each and every character the required space in the story. I wasn’t much impressed with the beginning portion but that may be linked to my taste and preferences. But the situation might not be the same for everyone.

What impressed me more was the emotionally touching and sentimental final one hour that makes you happy and sad within a short span of time emphasising that both happiness and sadness are two sides of the same coin. We feel emotionally rooted and connected with some of the important characters in Guppy, something which is the result of the points taken care of in the script. Johnpaul George is credited for the screenplay as well and for a young man appearing in his first innings in this role is to be specially noted.

Master Chetan appearing in the title role of Guppy was a treat to watch and coming from a boy of his age it was a matured acting display from him. Some of the scenes were special moments that came out well mainly because of the contribution and effort he had put in. The moments he shared with his mother was too touching and was pictured well with good support from Chetan as well as Rohini who acted as the mother.

Tovino Thomas who for me is a rising star and is fast improving to be a reliable actor. The character of Thejas Varkey had both style and substance in it and the role was safe in his hands. Tovino ensured his director’s choice of casting him in that role with dual shades to it didn’t go wasted. It was an important character in the film apart from Guppy, the boy and in the end the actor made sure the results of his efforts are there for the audience to see on screen with a controlled acting display.

Sreenivasan was the next actor who even with a role with limited screen presence making a good impact. Sudheer Karamana, Dileesh Pothen and Alencier Lay made their roles lively. Rest of the supporting casts were also fine. Devi Ajith and Nobi also were notable on the supporting side.

Guppy is a visually beautiful film as well, thanks to excellent camera work from Gireesh Gangadharan. Editing was also okay. Background score was apt and songs were also tuned well with my personal favourite being the song that appear in the final moments of the film.

Guppy from a debutant director is a neat piece of work and a promising film. Barring that initial phase of the film, it was a smooth ride for me till the end. A cute film that can remain in your minds after leaving theatres, I recommend the film for its freshness in the theme and its presentation.